Project: P+E House
Architects: Voilá!
Location: Barbastro, Spain
Area: 3,121 sf
Year: 2023
Photographs by: Courtesy of Voilá!
This unique residence by Voilá! isn’t your typical suburban home. Inspired by the surrounding rural landscape dotted with farms and industrial buildings, it offers a refreshing escape from monotonous residential construction.
Imagine a “happy farmhouse” – a recreational haven within the city limits, echoing the utilitarian structures nearby but designed for joyful family life.
Following zoning regulations, the house sits at the plot’s north end, leaving the southern area free for a sprawling garden. The two-story design, with an additional illuminated basement, cleverly fragments the volume to create extra terrace space, maximizing the buildable area.
Function takes center stage. Living areas with a south-facing orientation open onto the garden, while utility spaces like bathrooms and hallways occupy the north side. The simple volume transforms on each floor, creating more complex and interesting spaces.
Sustainability is key. The house is designed with compactness, insulation, and airtightness in mind, adhering to passive house standards. Both the facade and roof are clad in the same profiled sheet metal for a unified look. Inside, warm wood finishes create a cozy and inviting atmosphere.
Escaping from the residential constructions that surround it, the idea of housing arises from the rural landscape near the neighborhood. It is inspired by the farms that dot the landscape on the borders between the city and the countryside, where simple buildings of an industrial or agricultural nature appear.
The basis of the idea is summarized in the concept of “a farm”. A recreational land in a peripheral neighborhood with an appearance similar to the nearby industrial and agricultural buildings, but with a happy soul for family life.
In compliance with urban planning regulations, the building is located at the northern end of the plot, within the mandatory alignments, freeing up the garden on the southern strip of the plot. The planned home has been planned on the ground and first floors, in addition to a basement that is illuminated by a strip of patio in the separation with the northern boundary. The buildability is limited in terms of cubic meters, so it was decided to fragment the volume so that it generates additional terrace spaces.
The functional location of the pieces unfolds along this longitudinal axis, facing south and directed towards the garden. The northern strip of the house houses the servant facing north, such as circulations and wet rooms. Even though it is a simple volume, more complex spaces are generated by emptying the volume on each floor.
A building has been designed with a high degree of compactness, insulation, and airtightness following passive house standards. The same profiled sheet metal finish is used on both facades and roofs. Inside, friendlier materials such as wood are introduced to provide warmth to the living space.
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